Friday, October 28, 2011

People are pulling together to leave Bangkok today, after officials warned the Thai capital will soon be submerged in floodwaters.

According to Reuters , traffic in central Bangkok is quite clear when a 5-day vacation starting today. However, the main roads leading to the city outside the South are not flooded, the blockage. Many people in Bangkok are heading to the coastal town of Pattaya, which is very difficult to find the hotel rooms and houses for rent.
Images on television showed scenes crowded at the registration counter domestic flights, in the Suvarnabhumi Airport of Bangkok. Meanwhile, Don Muang, the old airport which can be used for domestic flights in Bangkok, were closed yesterday due to flooding.

Bangkok people began to leave their homes to avoid flooding.
Banks and financial centers are open from today to Monday next week, while shops in Bangkok tend to continue normally open on holidays.
The worst floods in Thailand in the past half-century is caused by unusually heavy rains, has killed at least 373 people since mid-July and affects the lives of nearly 2.5 million people. Of these, more than 113,000 people living in shelters and 720,000 people who need medical care.
The northern and central provinces is the worst affected, with at least seven industrial parks to be closed in northern Bangkok. Currently, the Thai capital are in danger because of the combination of water pouring from the north and high tides in the Chao Phraya River, where water levels are reaching record highs.
Yesterday afternoon, the Governor of Bangkok, said the water is flowing into the city rush. Officials warned that the levees would not hold water, and the city of at least 12 million people will be submerged.
"We are in urgent times. We need to follow up the situation from day 28 to 31/10, while many areas can be threatening. Mass flow to countries ", the Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra told reporters.
Sukhumbhand said, 90% in Don Muang district in the North were under water, while the western counties Bang Phlad also in a state of danger. 14 districts in the city being threatened flood waters and more than two districts may be submerged today.

Water flooding the Don Muang Airport in Bangkok.
The people of Bangkok have been scrambling to stockpile food and other necessities such as bottled water, instant noodles and even rice. Some stores sell only limited to customers in small quantities to prevent goods speculation.
Economic damage is difficult to determine, but the Thai central bank adjusted the growth forecast for the second largest economy in Southeast Asia to 3.1% this year and can be adjusted again tomorrow.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister said Yingluck Shinawatra, Bangkok can be flooded for a month. "But we will not face a 2-3m high flood water or in 2-3 months time as in other provinces," she told reporters Yingluck.
Flooding is expected to cause major damage to Thailand's tourism industry do not smoke use more than 2 million workers and accounts for 6% of the total domestic product of the country.